30 for 30's 'Broke' features Schilling

BY TOM MAHON, Daily News Staff Writer

IF YOU'RE A FAN of ESPN Films' "30 for 30" series you will want to tune in to Tuesday's segment titled "Broke," which is about once-wealthy athletes who are now struggling financially.

Among the athletes featured in the documentary is former Phillies ace Curt Schilling, who owns three World Series rings - one with the Diamondbacks, two with the Red Sox.

After his career, Schilling created 38 Studios, a business that produced video games. Schilling is on record as saying he lost approximately $50 million in the venture.

Others featured in the film, directed by Billy Corben, include former NBA star Jamal Mashburn, former major leaguer Cliff Floyd and former NFL receiver Andre Rison, who helped the Packers beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI.

In a conference call last week, Corben said he got the idea for the film, in part, from a 2009 Sports Illustrated article that noted 78 percent of NFL players are cash-strapped just 3 years after leaving the sport and 60 percent of NBA players are tapped out within 5 years.

Calipari a funny guy

Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari, the last guy you'd think would joke about NCAA violations, did just that after attending a Jay-Z concert on Friday night.

Calipari caught Jay-Z's act at the Barclay Center in Brookyn and then tweeted, "I told Jay-Z that I might get fined $50k being in HIS locker room tonight. He said 'I got you.' "

In April of last year, Jay-Z - a minority owner of the Nets - was fined $50,000 by the NBA for going into Kentucky's locker room and kibitzing with the players after the Wildcats beat North Carolina in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA has never found Calipari culpable of any infractions. That said, he is the only head coach to have teams at two different schools vacate Final Four appearances - Memphis (2008) and Massachusetts (1996).